Craig Kalkut joined West Front Strategies in January 2019 after 16 years in advocacy, government and private law practice. From 2014 through 2018, Craig was Vice President for Government Affairs at the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) where he lobbied both chambers of Congress on tech policy, international travel, immigration, and patent reform, among other issues.
Prior to AHLA, Craig served on the majority staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee as Senator Amy Klobuchar’s Staff Director and Chief Counsel for the Courts Subcommittee and Antitrust Subcommittee.
He played a pivotal role in negotiating the inclusion of Senator Klobuchar’s priorities in the “Gang of 8” comprehensive immigration reform bill that passed the Senate in 2013. Among those priorities were the promotion of high-skilled immigration, the protection of immigrant victims of domestic violence, and the expansion of the Conrad 30 program, which incentivizes foreign doctors to practice in medically underserved communities. Craig also served on the staff of the Senate Budget Committee, chaired by Senator Kent Conrad, and as the Committee’s point person on the Dodd-Frank Act, he assisted Democratic Leadership and the Banking Committee in navigating Senate budget rules to allow for passage of the legislation. He was also a member of the Budget Committee team that helped shepherd the Affordable Care Act through the budget reconciliation process. Before moving to the Budget Committee, Craig was on the legislative staff of Senator Conrad’s personal office and was instrumental in the creation of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission and the reauthorization of the Conrad 30 program.
Craig practiced law for three years at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, focused primarily on mergers and acquisitions. Craig graduated from Harvard Law School in 2002 and Tufts University in 1998.